The Citizen Hero
by Miscellaneous Thief
Summary: Tiana Williams handles all of the applications for the hotshots who think they can last 3 minutes in the ring with Bonesaw. It was just an ordinary night, or so she thought. What she didn't expect that the teenager standing in her line for the wrestling match would end up being a superhero, or that, months later, she would end up saving his life. 2000's Movie-Verse.


The Citizen Hero

A Spiderman (2002) Fanfic by Miscellaneous Thief

* * *

Her name is Tiana Williams, and she is not payed enough to deal with this kind of shit.

She remembers that one night, nearly two months ago. Anyone who was there that night, whether they were casual wrestling fans or enthusiasts, remembered that night with awe and disbelief. Even now, customers would still enthusiastically whisper about the night that Spiderman defeated the infamous Bonesaw.

She remembers the scrawny, skinny kid that stood in her line that night. She remembers quirking her eyebrow in skepticism as he spoke with certainty and resolve. It wasn't the first time she had seen a hot-headed teenager with something to prove, but it was the first time she'd ever met one that looked more likely to help a granny with her groceries than someone the slums spat out. He was persistent though, as they all were, so with a sigh she let him through.

The time of the match the kid was supposed to be in was drawing near. She managed to convince one of her coworkers to cover her seat while she sneaked off to watch the fight. Quietly worried about the well-being of the teen, she made sure that she had her cellphone ready. The first number in his emergency contacts (which she'd copied from his registration paper) was a man by the name of Ben Parker, the boy's uncle. She mentally prepared herself to call the number the second things went inevitably wrong. She could only pray that the kid would get cold feet at the last minute, and that she wouldn't have to be the bearer of bad news once more.

But he proceeded anyway, and she watched in solemn silence as the match began. The cage came down, trapping the two for the promised three minute match. The crowd cheered, screaming with anticipation of predicted bloodshed.

And then it happened: the kid won. Her mind stuttered to a stop in open shock as the crowd roared around her. "The Amazing Spiderman," (which was a much better name than what he'd originally put on his registration paper) had beat the previously unbeatable Bonesaw.

She left the building that night in a numb stupor. In all the years that she'd worked there, she had never seen anything quite like this. She had overheard from the other girls that their cheapskate of a boss had cheated the poor kid out of his money. She wasn't surprised, but she felt bad for him. She shook her head, mentally wishing the teen good luck but silently hoping that she'd never have to see him again. If only for his sake, more than hers.

Not long after that eventful night, she'd practically forgot all about the spider-themed teen. Sure, the patrons still chattered about the legendary kid who'd slaughtered the once mighty Bonesaw, but even that gossip started to disappear in favor of more interesting news. There was a new superhero running around New York, and his name was Spiderman.

At first, she assumed that the name was coincidental. Perhaps she was in denial, but there was no way that this new spider themed vigilante was the same skinny kid she watched in the wrestling cage. It was New York, after all. Surely there were plenty of other weirdos with spider fascinations, right?

So she continued on with her life, keeping a careful ear out for any news regarding the newest superhero. She had yet to see any pictures of him. She never found the time to watch the news, working as much as she did, and she could care less about the newspapers. Then one day, as she was getting dinner ready after a long day at work, she received a very odd call from her younger sister.

"Hey, what's up?" She greeted casually, holding the phone with her shoulder so that she could have both her hands free while she stood at the stove.

"Oh Ti, I'm so glad to hear your voice! Are you okay?" Her sister's frantic, high-pitched voice demanded through the speaker.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." Tiana replied, confusion evident in her tone. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You mean you haven't heard?" She gasped, scandalously. "I mean, I guess that makes sense, considering you only ever leave your tiny-ass apartment when you have to go to work. But still! I would think that-"

"Heard what?" Tiana snapped, cutting her sister off.

"Turn on your TV" Her sister instructed, unhelpfully.

"Ugh, why?"

"Just do it!"

Knowing that she wasn't going to get anywhere in an argument with her sister, Tiana sighed. She set her hairbrush down on the counter and walked into her living room, where a small, barely used TV sat. "What channel?"

"Doesn't matter, it's on all of 'em." She replied, smugly.

Tiana raised a single, skeptical eyebrow and did as her sister said. She had an older model TV, so it took a minute to warm up before any picture showed up. The sound came first, and a woman's voice cut trough the silence of the room.

"-at the scene of the attack. For our viewers just tuning in, there has been a terrorist attack at the World Unity Fair in New York Times Square. Details are still coming in, but it appears to be the actions of one man, a costumed assailant that the Daily Bugle has dubbed"The Green Goblin." A similarly masked vigilante, going by the name "Spiderman," also appeared-"

By that point the picture had shown up, and the reporter's voice was drowned out by the sudden buzzing shock of realization. On the screen, a short, shaky cellphone video played, show a startling familiar red-and-blue hero as he swung past on his web. The video played again a froze on a single frame. The camera zoomed in on him, allowing her to get a good, albeit blurry, look at his body.

She felt the cold shock rush trough her body. It was him. She could no longer deny it. Years in the wrestling business had given her a trained eye for style, and his acrobatics and costume were too similar to be anybody else. While the costume had obviously been improved, it was undeniably the same lanky kid that had stood in her line so many months ago. She'd never imagined that he was going to be a superhero.

Another sudden realization struck her, making her drop her forgotten phone out of her limp hand. She left the room in a rush, mind racing. She was so lost in planning that she barely even registered her sister's confused voice coming from the abandoned phone.

She had a mission to complete.

* * *

Tiana exited the cab quickly, telling the driver to wait for her as she only planned to be gone for a couple of minutes. The late night air breezed around her, so she pulled her jacket tighter around her and hurried to the dark building across the abandoned street. She'd had to wait until it was late enough in the night that the street would be asleep, but the late hour was worth it for the action that she was going to complete that night. She dug her keys out of her pocket. She'd never been so grateful for owning a spare set of keys to the building than she was then. Long hours of paperwork assured that she was often the last person there after a busy day of matches. She had been given the set of keys with the promise that she'd lock up at night.

Once she was inside, she headed straight to the all-too-familiar file room. She didn't need to see where she was going, and she was thankful for this. Lights attracted attention, and she needed to be stealthy about it. She entered the file room and turned on the flashlight that she'd brought with her. She quickly located the cabinet that contained all the applicant information from that month, and began to leaf through it. Halfway through, she found the specific registration paper that she was searching for: Spiderman, aka Peter Parker.

She grabbed the file, slammed the drawer shut, and rushed back out of the building. Once she was outside and far away enough from the once-again locked building, she dug in her coat pocket with a shaky hand. She grasped the lighter that she had made absolutely sure to bring and, without a another thought, she lit the paper on fire.

As the growing flame began to consume the paper, she let it fall to the ground. Staring at the dancing orange flame, she reflected on why she was doing this in the first place. From the moment that she realized that the Spiderman that stood in her line was the same Spiderman currently trying to save the city, she knew that she had to do something. She'd realized that anyone who happened to remember that iconic wrestling night could make the same connections that she'd had. And then, all they'd have to do was find the files they kept on all of their wrestlers and all of his personal information would be revealed. His real name, address, and his closest family, everything you'd need to find a person.

Tiana didn't want to condemn a kid who was trying to make their city a better place, one scumbag at a time. So here she found herself, staring at the dying embers of the paper that told it all. She had broken into her work, risked her job, spent well over $50 in cab fare, and it was currently 2 in the morning, but she found that she had no regrets.

With the paper, and all it's information, reduce to ashes, slowly made her way back to the waiting cab. As she entered the warm car once more, the annoyed cab driver glared at her.

"Jesus, lady! I hope you have enough money to cover this fair, or we're going to have a problem. What on earth were you doin' that was so damn important?"

Tiana laughed, allowing herself to relax for the first time that day. Though Spiderman would never know of the favor that she had done for him that day, she was glad that she did it. As she met the cabbie's expectant gaze, she couldn't help but crack a knowing smile.

"Saving a life."

End.

* * *

Author Note: My first Spiderman fic! Once again, I put way too much thought into a character that literally had one line, but such is my brain. My husband and I were watching Spiderman a couple of weeks ago, and I noticed this plot-hole. And as usual, I can't be satisfied until I could think of some way to fill it with headcannon tar. Thus, this fic was born.


End file.
